Dream Catcher
by Melya Liz
Summary: Two girls from the present time accidentally summon Edward and Alphonse with some sort of Alchemy. Now the boys need to find out how they got there and how to get back. very random and just written for fun
1. Shed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist **

**This is a gift for my amazing friend ** Desert.Moon**, who is always making me so happy.**

**Iappreciate getting feedback from my readers, I love hearing their comments, questions, concerns, ideas and all that stuff. Just because I don't want people to be overly critical doesn't mean I'm a stuff shirt who doesn't want to hear any feed back. If you have some ideas or think that something was a little to outlandish you are free to tell me I love to hear the thoughts of others, they keep me down to earth.**

**Anyway to my Kit, you have given me so many ideas for so many things. This plot idea came to me a week ago after talking to you. Thus I give this peace of crap to you. (Also thanks for all the Snow names) I REALLY hope you like this…**

**--------------------The Shed--------------------**

"Hurry up Kitty-Kat!!!"

"I'm trying Snow, gosh slow down."

Snow, or Isanne by everyone else, laughed as she pulled open the door to Kathrin's Grandmother's shed. "Your going to love this Kitty-Kat, I found it the other day when I was looking threw some of your Grandmother's stuff" pushing away a few boxes the young girl waved her hands dramatically toward the floor.

"Behold!"

Before her was a HUGE drawing of a red circle filled with funny symbols, Kathrin's green eyes looked over the drawing.

"Did you draw this Snow? I'm not sure Grandma's going to like it…"

The light haired girl shook her head "like I said I found it yesterday, while you were out."

Kathrin bet down inspecting the drawing "Looks kind of like Alchemy" all those fantasy books finely paid off.

"SWEET!!! How does it work!?! Can we make gold!?!"

Kathrin laughed at her best friend's enthusiasm "Alchemy isn't real silly, Grandma probably just did this when she was in one of her, ya know, crazes" Isanne nodded and knelt next to her friend.

"Let's summon someone"

"I just told you…" but the younger girl was already placing her hands on the circle as if she was some all powerful witch, a very_blond_ all powerful witch.

"God's of the Alchimney …"

"It's Alchemy"

"Right, God's of the _Alchemy,_ I summon…. The great Ice Unicorn."

"A Unicorn?"

"Oh come on Kitty-Kat, play along"

Laughing the older girl placed her hands down like Isanne had done and closed her eyes.

"Come forth Unico…"

Suddenly the circle light up blue light exploding everywhere…

-----------------

"You'll never stop me!!"

Ed growled as he ran toward the older man, he was holding the secrets to a very deadly weapon that he had stolen from the labs where Edward and his brother where working. Edward had no idea what was in that book but he was in charge of getting it back (and possibility getting a look at what was inside). From the corner of his eye he saw his brother running down another hall trying to cut off the half crazy man.

Soon the chase led all three of them met in a large room. "It's over boys!!! I win" holding up the book he pulled out a page and threw it toward the brothers. Edward saw an Alchemy circle written.

"But Alche…." Blue light exploded from it…

------------------

"AHHH what did you DO!!!"

"I do!!! How do you know it wasn't you!!! Your grandmother's the one who drew this!!!"

"Something's coming out of it!!!"

"It's a demon!!! Kill it!!!"

Before Kathrin could stop her, Isanne had grabbed a broom that had been lying innocently near by and charged at the two figures.

"DIE DEAMONS DIE!!!"

"Ow what the HELL!!!"

"Brother!"

Isanne's broom landed square on Edward Elric's shoulder (what a welcome) the blond haired girl, however, didn't even stop to see what she hit, she just kept on whacking.

"Go back to Hell we don't want you!!!"

"Snow get away from them!!!"

"Ow stop it!!!"

Grabbing the young girl's broom Ed pulled it away from her grasp. Surprised the young girl just stood there for a moment blinking as if seeing the boys for the first time. The brunet behind her finely spoke.

"Snow they're just Boys."

"That's what they want us to think!!! No Human boy can pop up out of cement!!" at that the girl, Snow, kicked Ed in the shin, sadly (for her) it was his metal one.

"Owwwwww" she leapt back clutching her now hurt, and possible sprained, ankle. Al was instantly next to her.

"Are you ok?"

"Stay away from my SISTER!!!" Kathrin yelled running over and pushing the younger Elric away. Kneeling down she turned to her best friend.

"Snow are you…"

"What's going on in here?" the four teens looked up to see an elder woman standing in the shed's doorway. She had her hands on her hips with that 'you better explain now' look that adults give children.

"Alice!!! These freaky Alien boys popped out of the floor!!!!"

"We're not Aliens!!! And I have no idea how we got here" Edward shouted back at the pale blond girl who stuck out her tongue at him. The elder woman, Alice, raised a gray eyebrow as her keen eyes took in the scene before her.

"Looks like you all have a lot of explaining to do."

They had all walked out, or in Isanne's case limped, of the old shed and into the large brick building. Alice, Kathrin's grandmother, had ushered them into the kitchen, brushed away her Origami project, and had placed a plate of oatmeal cookies before the teens. "I swear she makes these just because I hate them" Kathrin muttered looking distastefully at the plate before her. If her grandmother had heard her she didn't show it. After setting everything out Alice sat gracefully on one of the chairs and looked at the four teens who were sitting at her table.

"Now let's start the expiations, Emma and some of her friends will be home soon so let's make this quick."

Nodding Kathrin spoke first "Snow took me into the shed to show me something…"

"It was that big Alchimney …"

"Alchemy" Edward corrected, the blond glared at him then continued.

"Anyways, we wanted the God of _Alchemy_ to bring us a unicorn so we placed our hands on the circle thing and BAM!!! These Daemon's came, unless you guys ARE unicorns, are you unicorns?"

"First off there is no God of Alchemy, second how OLD ARE YOU!?!_UNICORNS!?!_"

"Brother pleases…."

Kathrin shook her head at her friend's expiation, "We were just fooling around… we didn't mean to really summon someone!!!"

"Besides, Alchemy isn't supposed to work in this world…" Edward added his hands folded on the table, his copper eyes hard. Alice sighed rubbing her temples. Kids these days, they got stranger and stranger.

"Well boys, I need to know what you were doing in my shad, seeing as neither of the girls WANTED you to be there. I'd like a VERY good explanation for why a couple of guys are hanging out around my house"

Both boys were silent for a moment, what do they say now?

"Grandma, you don't really get it, we weren't just fooling around in the shed and these guys happened to be in there. We placed out hands on that circle and there was this blue light and poof out popped these guys!" Isanne nodded agreeing with her friend. Alice sighed then turned to the boys.

"Ok let's hear your story."

"Well… you see" Al stammered glancing to his elder brother begging him to help him out.

"We have no idea how we got here Madam," Ed interrupted "We were in the research Lab in Germany"

"Germany!!!" both girls squeaked. Both boys nodded and Alice couldn't help cracking a smile.

"Well you're a far way from home."

"What do yo…"

"You happened to be in good 'ol Harpsherd Mississippi, America"

"WHAT!!" Edward exploded standing up in shock. Kathrin nodded confirming her friend's statement. Slumping back into his chair Edward folded his hands grumpily. Suddenly the sound of a car beeping could be heard outside. Alice stood up.

"Well that's Emma, we'll talk more about this after dinner, until then… you boys can help Kathrin and Isanne do their chores that they_conventionally_ forgot while summoning Unicorns" with that the older woman left not leaving any time for the boys to protest, which Ed looked like he wanted to do. Once her grandmother was gone Kathrin stood up as well.

"Well then let's get going,"

-----------------------------

Chores consisted of gathering wood and chopping it, or at least that's what they were doing right now. The girls where happy to have some "Strong men." as Kathrin put it, to do the chopping for them

"Well even if you guys are daemons I'm grateful you came" Isanne told them. both boys where chopping while the girls stacked. Apparently either girl liked chopping much.

"Sure what ever" Edward grumbled annoyed that he was being made to do manual labor. His brother, however, was must more polite.

"It's not big deal."

"Soooo are you guys related?" Kathrin asked

Al nodded "Oh that's right, we even introduced ourselves. I'm Alphonse Elric and that's my older, but much less mature, Brother Edward" his brother glared at him and the now giggling girls.

"Very funny Al"

"Well I'm Kathrin…."

"Kitty-Kat"

Kathrin glanced at her friend then continued "Whitefild"

"Snow or as everyone but Kitty-Kat calls me Isanne Hughes"

At this Ed almost lost his balance and Al almost chocked.

"W…what?"

Isanne blinked in surprise "It's not THAT odd, my name means ice, but snow soun…."

Ed shook his head "No, no I mean your related to Maes Huges?"

"Who?"

"Never mind"

At this Ed lifted his ax and swung it down, hard. Both girls watched him confused. "You have a problem relative" Kathrin whispered to her best friend. Isanne shrugged.

"Well it's not like I'm close to any of them"

"True"

"Kids Dinner!!!"

---------------------------------------

Dinner was pretty normal; fried chicken, mash potatoes, and green beans. Or normal for a average American family, for the Elric brothers it was a new dish entirely. But chopping wood works up and appetent and the boys weren't complaining.

Emma turned out to be a dark skinned nine year-old with two other nine year-old friends Tracy and Sandra. Tracy was very shy and only talked to Emma in low whispers. Sandra, on the other hand, was quite talkative and by then end of dinner had pretty much told Alphonse her whole life story. Isanne later remarked that the little girl had a crush on him. This made the younger Elric turned slightly red and laugh lightly.

"Hahah you're such a ladies man" Isanne giggled, deciding to take the nine year-old crush up a notch, "I bet you had hundreds of nine year-olds running after you where you lived."

"Isanne would you come in here and help me set up this game for the girls? Kat you and the boys wash the dishes"

"Ok Grams"

"You grandmother needs to get that dishwasher fixed… oh and Alz I'll be sure to tell your fangirl all about your wood chopping, to bad you had your shirt on… well next time I guess" the blond went into the other room laughing, leaving a poor flustered and very confused Alphonse. Kathrin laughed hanging him a sponge.

"You wash, Ed dries, I'll put away since I know where everything goes."

---------------------**End**----------------------

**Well that's it so far… next chapter is half done, but I'm just writing this as I get inspired (free writing is so much fun) so chapters come when they come.**


	2. Powwow

**Some other notes: I'm not sure what I'm following here…. I haven't finished the TV series or the Manga. I do know some spoilers for the TV show so I'm just going to kind of fit together my own type of ending. Sorry if that bothers you.**

**-------------------Powwow-------------------**

While the teens washed, they talked about life around Alice's house. Kathrin—or Kitty, as she liked to be called—told them all about their lifestyle and answered as many questions as she could.

"So wait, Isanne and Emma aren't related to you at all, but they live here with you and your grandmother?"

Kitty nodded. "This is a foster home; my Grandmother runs it. Basically, in case you didn't know, a foster home is a place that kids live until they are adopted, or their parents come, or whatever reason you can think of… We've had some crazy outlandish cases."

Al nodded as he handed a glass to his brother to dry. "So, if your grandmother runs this place, then why are you here?"

Kitty picked up a pile of plates and placed them in a cabinet before she answered.

"My parents were killed by a drunk driver… it's pretty common in backwater towns like these."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

Kitty gave both boys a weak smile. "It's ok. I was pretty young, so I've had a long time to heal. Besides, it's hard to miss someone you don't really remember."

Edward shook his head as he handed her a cup. "You never really heal from the loss of a parent."

Kitty took the cup and quickly turned to put it away, pushing back those stupid tears that STILL drove her crazy. It was easier when people didn't give her that "you poor thing" look. She was happy with her life. Besides, her parents had loved her and they were watching over her. That's more then some kids could say…

"What about Isanne?" Al asked quickly. The blonde-haired girl mentioned was still in the living room helping the younger girls.

Kitty smiled slightly at some fond memory, glad to have the topic off her parents. "Isanne's your basic victim of teen pregnancy. Stupid father ran away when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant."

Ed growled, twisting the rag, memories of his own father leaving running threw his head. Kitty laughed at Edward's reaction, breaking his train of thought.

"Yeah, that's my reaction too. Loser. But Isanne forgives him, I think. Basically, she's just grateful to be alive." Neither boy asked what the meant as Kitty continued, "Anyway, when she was twelve, her mom wanted to study to become a nurse, and her great aunt didn't want to have anything to do with her. So Isanne told them she wanted to be adopted by a family so she wouldn't be a burden to her mom. Or that's how Isanne tells the story. Anyway, that's when I met her. We're like sisters now."

Suddenly, the girl they were talking about poked her head into the kitchen. "Yo, you guys done yet?" Laughing, she walked in, took a sponge, and grabbed a plate from the soapy water. "Hurry up. We're going to watch _Beauty and the Beast._"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "You just want to see it for the fangirls."

Isanne laughed. "You betcha!"

After the dishes were done, the girls dragged the boys into the living room where a large TV stood.

Ed and Al had seen TVs before, but never one as big as this. Ed was starting to get a strange feeling about this place. Either American was sooo much more advanced or… or… It was so hard to grasp, but maybe, just maybe, they were in the…future? He was going to have to talk to Al about that after…whatever it was they were doing.

_Beauty and the Beast_ turned out to be a movie, a color movie. That was "Disney," Sandra informed Al, explaining, "This is my favorite Disney movie, I think Belle's so pretty, don't you?" The younger brother just nodded, having no idea what she was talking about.

Apparently, Isanne knew the whole thing by heart and would randomly quote it to annoy Emma. The "fangirls" turned out to be three blonde girls who looked pretty much identical. The moment they came on the screen, Isanne and Kitty did their lines with them, even pretending to faint. Emma rolled her eyes.

"You should see them with Aladdin. They can do the entire _A Whole New World, _it's almost scary."

"I'm Aladdin!!!" Isanne sang. "Cuz Kitty's way too pretty to be the guy." At that, the brunette laughed.

Once the movie was over, Alice came in. "Emma, Sandra's mom is coming pick her and Tracy up, so go and pick up your toys and get your jackets." Nodding, Emma lead the two girls out of the room.

"Ok, boys, I did some soul-searching and I have a few more questions for you." Both brothers exchanged glances, then Edward stood.

"Yeah?"

"First off, do you have any family or someone we can contact to tell them you're here?"

"Well, there's the organization we were working for," Alphonse suggested.

Alice nodded. "We'll look into contacting them tomorrow, seeing as it's probably early morning for them and it's already almost nine here. So, girls, show the boys to a guest room."

Both girls nodded, then stood up; the brothers did the same.

"Oh, thank you so much! My brother and I are very grateful!" Al said, smiling warmly. Alice returned the smile, laughing slightly.

"This is a foster home. There's always room for a few more kids."

--------

It was now eleven o'clock and the Elric brothers were still talking about the past days events.

"Something seems amiss, Brother. Everything is so…so advanced. It's almost like we're in a different world entirely."

Ed nodded. "Well, they can use alchemy. Or that's what it looked like, but I didn't really get a close look at it." Al thought back to when they first met the girls.

"But they seemed really surprised, and I don't really remember any equivalent exchange. Maybe it's something different entirely." Ed sighed, resting his head against the wall as he tried to think.

-------

Kitty was sitting on her bed reading a book for school when there was a knock on the door. "Kitty-Kat, I can't sleep," Isanne said. She was standing in Kitty's doorway, a pink quilt wrapped around her as she held a small red pillow to her chest. Kathrin laughed slightly and scooted over so her friend could sit on her bed.

"What happened?"

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep… whatcha reading?"

Kathrin held up the book for her to see. "We need to read it for school."

"Looks like fun… Hey, want to see if the guys are still up?"

"Meh, why not."

Both girls snuck down the hall and toward the boys' room. They stopped for a moment and listened to what the brothers were saying.

"Maybe this new kind of Alchemy will send us home," the girls heard Al say, hope ringing in his voice. Isanne and Kathrin looked at each other in surprise. Then Kitty leaned closer on the door. Little did she know, it wasn't closed all the way, so when she put her weight on it, she fell right in. Isanne, who had been leaning on her, landed on top of her partner in crime.

"AHHH!!! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING SPYING ON US!!!!" Ed screamed.

"Shhhhh, you'll wake up Alice and Emma!!!" Isanne hissed, clamping her hand over the blond's mouth.

"What are you guys still doing up?" Al asked much quieter then his brother. Kathrin took her friend's pillow, which the younger girl had brought with her, and sat on it.

"We wanted to see if you guys were up."

Isanne nodded. "Yeah, normally when we get new kids, they can't sleep the first few days."

"That's not saying much. You STILL can't sleep and you've been here three years, Snow."

The pale girl stuck out her tongue at her best friend. "I'm different. I'm special."

"Well, we were just talking, so you can go now," Edward told the girls, trying to get them to leave.

"Awww, but we want to talk. We've never been to Germany before. Tell us about it," Kathrin said, sticking out her bottom lip in a fake pout.

"Yeah, do they really wear funny old looking clothes like you guys have?" Isanne asked, her bright crystal eyes sparkling with interest as she picked up Al's folded shirt. Alice had given the boys some PJs from a spare bag of clothes, promising that she'd pick up some more tomorrow.

"Yeah, you're lucky you're so short," Kathrin remarked. "Otherwise…"

"Are you saying I'm so small that I fit into a ten-year-old's pajamas!"

"More like a fourteen-year-old's."

Ed was about to lunge at the loudmouthed brunette, but his younger brother stopped him. Sitting back, the older boy was content with just maturely glaring daggers at her.

"You're shorter then me by a lot!"

"That's not even proper English, and I was born premature. What's your excuse?"

Both Isanne and Al laughed; the only difference between their chuckles was that Isanne was enjoying the battle of wits while Al was concerned for the smaller girl's well-being.

"Ok, next subject, height is kind of boring… What kind of music do you guys like? Any cool bands in Germany?" Isanne asked, wrapping her blanket tighter around herself. Both boys looked at each other, drawing total blanks.

"Well, uhhhh…"

"We don't listen to music, we never have the time," Edward finished quickly. Isanne's blue eyes widened as if the boys had just committed the most horrible crime imaginable.

"WHAT!!"

"Snow, Grams and Emma…"

"Sorry… ahem… _What!?! _Then what did you guys DO in Germany that made you so busy?"

"We were scientists."

Both girls stared, wide-eyed, at Alphonse. "Wow, you guys must be smart."

Ed couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Vanity is a sin, Edkuns."

Kathrin couldn't help laughing at that. "Edkuns?" she repeated to her friend. The blonde nodded.

"Do you approve Kitty-Kat? Alz and Edkuns, I think it fits." Kitty-Kat nodded, shrugging cheerfully.

"Ok then." Standing up, Snow took her pillow and held it above her head. "In the name of the Gods of Alchimney, I dub you Lord Alz and Edkuns." As she said their new names, she hit them both on the head with the pillow.

"Ow!!!" Ed cried.

"Pillow fight!!!" Isanne said throwing her pilling at Kitty. Then laughing she lunged toward the bottom bunk of the bed. Al, seeing what she was up to, grabbed her, then spun her away and grabbed a pillow. The young girl gave a little squeak as she stumbled back.

"Don't worry, Snow, I'll defend your honor!!!" Launching herself at Al, Kathrin began whacking him with her pillow.

This soon turned a massive battle, in which they ended up tickling Edward because he was "being a big stinky meanie stick in the mud," as Isanne put it. However, their fun was cut off when Alice came in.

"Do you all know how late it is? Now, I know the boys don't have school tomorrow, but I _also_ know two young ladies who have class in the morning."

Laughing, the girls fled to their rooms, saying goodnight to the brothers.

------------------------**End**-------------------------

**Not much to say other then WOOT I had a BLAST writing this (I'm just having a blast anyway) I hope you guys enjoyed and please review:D **


	3. Times have changed

**A big thanks to **

smart one

and

**Arden Anam**

**For their reviews –gomps- you guys are GREAT!!!!**

**Note: I'm starting to regret having them live in a state I know nothing about… I think I'm going to change that… you have been warned…**

---------------**Times have changed**-------------

Alphonse woke up to the sound of people's voices and footsteps. It was a comforting sound, the sound of people getting up. It made him feel like he was apart of—dare he say it?—a family. It was kind of funny, he mused, that he and his brother would find themselves in a foster home, surrounded by kids who didn't have parents. These kids were like them and the way they acted around each other was so different than what he was use to. Last night had been so much fun; it was like they didn't have to worry about anything but waking up the guardian and getting into trouble for staying up late. The last time he and his brother had reprimanded for staying up was when their mother had found them reading Alchemy books, at one in the morning.

Mom…

The younger Elric's thoughts where interrupted by the sound of Isanne's voice as she passed the brothers room. She was singing, rather off-key…

"_Good morning, the night is over and gone, I thought once this dark would last for so longgggggg." _

"Oh Snow, not this early, _PLEASE,_" came from the direction of Kathrin's room. This, of course, just made the younger girl sing louder.

"_Do you see just what you've done in my life; you gave me, more than I hoped for, now I feel your sunlight on my faceeeeeeeee." _

"That's it! You're going to be feeling more than _sunlight_ on your face!"

Al could hear Isanne let out a squeal and there was the sound of pounding feet. Above him, he heard Edward let out a groan.

"Darn those girls, I was having a nice dream, too."

Al laughed as he got up. Picking up the clothes that Alice had provided, he changed and walked toward the bathroom. Last night, Alice had shown them where and how everything worked, and where the toothbrushes, soap, towels, and other such necessities were kept.

After Al was done, he passed his brother, who was still half asleep, before going downstairs into pandemonium.

"Emma, do you have your homework?"

"Yes, Alice!"

"Grams, do we have gas in the Werewolf?"

"Filled it up last night. Remember I'm picking up Isanne, but you still have to get Emma from school."

"You got it?"

"Kitty-Kat, where's my iPod?!" Isanne screamed, almost running into Alphonse. "Oh, sorry, Alz." The blonde had a backpack slung over her shoulder, and her hands were occupied by a jacket, shoes, socks, and a half-eaten apple.

"How should I know… did yo—?"

"Found it, it was in my purse."

"Alright, you guys have everything?"

"Yep!"

"Yes, Grandma."

"Wait, I forgot my USB port!"

"Hurry up, Isanne! I'm not going to be late because of you!"

"Ok, I'll be right back!" the girl yelled, pulling on her shoes as she ran into the back of the house. She returned in a matter of seconds, a small peace of pink plastic in her hands. Grabbing the rest of her stuff, she bolted out the door.

"Byezzzzzz!"

Alice laughed at Alphonse's bewildered expression as the girls left the house.

"It's like that every morning. You'd think by now they would prepare better. Oh well, kids will be kids. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

----

Al was just finishing his plate of eggs when his older brother came down.

"What was that racket? It sounded like the house was on fire."

Alice, who was sewing a quilt on the table, laughed. "No, just three girls getting ready for school. Would you like some eggs before we start the hunt for a way to get you guys home?" Ed simply nodded and sat down.

----

After Edward had eaten, Alice returned and asked, "Are you guys ready to go home?" Both boys nodded enthusiastically. "Alright, then, let's start from the beginning. First off, where did you live?"

"Well," Edward said, "we worked for the Werden Labs in Abfahren in Germany."

Alice looked thoughtful. "Sounds good, let's Google it."

Both boys looked confused but followed the older woman. She sat down on a chair that sat in front of a box that looked vaguely like a TV. Both boys fallowed her example and sat down as well. After pressing something under the table, the semi-TV lit up; after a few more seconds, Alice was typing quickly across a keypad that was sitting in front of the TV. Soon, pictures and words flashed on the screen. Both boys watched in total awe as the older woman worked.

"Ah, found it." She moved and pressed a funny plastic thing, then started to read the words that came up on the screen. Her face turned from triumph to a slight frown. "This can't be right… What did you say the lab was called again?"

"Werden. It sort of means _become._"

"And that's spelled W-E-R-D-E-N?" Ed nodded, not liking the way this conversation was going.

"Hmmm, and you're SURE it was in Abfahren?"

"YES! Why!?! What's the matter?"

"Brother, please don't shout."

"Well, Edward, it says here that the Werden Lab in Abfahren has been closed for more than sixty years now, something about an experiment gone wrong."

"_What?_" The blond leaned over, his gold eyes flashing as he read what it said in the article.

"See?" the woman said, pointing to a paragraph.

"_The Werden Lab was shut down in 1945, after an unexplained explosion in the west corridor." _

"1945!!!… Wait, what's today's date!?!"

"Today is March 26, 2007."

"T—two thousand? And seven?"Edward slumped in his chair in total shock.

---------

"We're home!!!" Kathrin called out. Both Elric brothers looked up from the computer screen they'd been sitting in front of for hours. Ed stood up, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm going for a walk, I need to think," he muttered to his brother, then nodding a hello to Kathrin and Emma as he left. Emma, who didn't seem to notice the boy's cold greeting, simply told Kathrin that she was going to watch "toons." Once she was gone, Kitty turned to Al.

"What's the matter with your brother? Did you guys find what you needed?" The younger Elric shrugged.

"It's complicated. So, where's Snow?"

Kathrin's face lit up as Al used the cheerful girl's nickname. "She's going to be thrilled you called her that, and Miss Snow is at the psychiatrists. All children that are in foster homes are required to take sessions. Snow normally goes about once a month, if that. Emma goes around one or two times in a month." Al nodded; Kitty must have guessed that he was confused, because she continued, "A psychiatrist is sort of like a doctor for the mind." At this, she tapped her forehead. "You go and talk to him or her about how you're feeling and he or she will tell you how to deal with those feelings." Alphonse nodded once again.

"I see… So, does Snow like going?"

The brunette shrugged. "I'm never sure. She always acts kind of funny when she first gets back. I think she has a hard time letting people in. When she lived with her mom, she had to act like an adult. I know, Snow acting mature… it's hard to believe… but it's true. When she first came here, she hardly talked and hated to ask for any kind of help. She hardly even ate, too, 'cause she was so worried about taking our food. She's over all that now; I guess that's why she acts so childish now. Like she never got to do it when she was younger or something."

"I guess that makes sense. Sometimes, I worry about my brother because he is always trying to be an adult."

"Well, all I can recommend is lots of love; that's all Grandma and I did with Snow. By the way, you never told me about what you guys found out… and don't say it's too complicated, I can deal with complicated. Trust me."

"Well…"

------

Edward wandered through the trees that filled the hills behind the Dream Catcher's Foster Home, thinking hard. Alice had told them she had given the place that name because it was another chance for kids to catch their dreams. In Ed's personal opinion, it was kind of silly, but after seeing how happy the kids had been the night before, he kept his thoughts to himself. He had to admit that Alice was unlike any adult he had ever met. He would never have guessed she was older if not for the gray running (or, as she called it, dancing) through her once jet-black hair. She hadn't seemed at all shocked at the possibility that the boys were from the past. In fact, she had stated that it was probably the only explanation.

"There are a lot of unexplained things in this world," she had told the boys, "and after you have explained them, something even more inexplicable comes up. It keeps us on our toes."

Edward sighed, stopping to rest under a sweet gum. This was all so confusing; nothing seemed to fit at all. Standing up, he sighed again. Maybe he should go take a look in that shed. Those Alchemy symbols might be able to give him a clue.

------

Meanwhile, Alphonse was just finishing explaining their findings to Kathrin when Isanne's voice could be heard in the doorway.

"I'm home!"

"Snow!" Emma ran out of the living room, Al and Kitty on her tail. The pale blonde stood in the door, holding a letter.

"And guess who just wrote his favorite sister."

"Jonny!!!" Kitty squealed, grabbing the letter from her best friend, teal eyes glowing with love for her brother. "I'll be back soon," she called as she ran outside, taking the much-treasured bit of paper with her. Isanne laughed.

"Jonny—Kitty-Kat's older brother—is over fighting in the war in Iraq," she informed Al as she took off her jacket.

"There's a war going on?"

The blonde shrugged. "Not a big one, some terrorists attacked us… Wait, how come you don't know? I mean, even Germany should know about Nine-Eleven."

Al gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, yeah, right."

Isanne gave him a half-smile, then continued her story. "Anyway, Jonny's over there fighting, or whatever it is they're doing right now. Kitty-Kat loves her brother a lot; I'm glad she has him." Al was about to inquire further when Emma came running up.

"Snow, play DDR with me please!"

"Ok!"

----------------------

Kathrin walked through the woods, heading for her special "thinking tree," as she called it. It was where she went when she was mad, upset, or just wanted to do something alone. She often brought her sketchbook out there with her to draw.

Sitting down, the first thing Kitty notice was that someone had been here; the grass had been obviously parted, like someone had been sitting there. Looking around, the brunette didn't see anyone, so she leaned against the tree and opened her letter.

------------------

Edward walked around the circle repeatedly, bemused. It was unlike any Alchemy he had ever seen; it felt like reading a language he had never seen, but that was kind of close to his own. Bending down, he placed his hands on the circle.

Nothing happened.

Straightening back up, he looked around. His sharp yellow eyes soon found a sketchbook lying on a box, a pencil on top of it. Picking it up, he ripped out a page. They wouldn't miss it. Quickly, the Elric started to copy the symbols that were written on the floor. Maybe his brother would have some idea about the Alchemy, if that's what it was.

"What are you doing?"

Edward whirled around to see Kathrin standing in the doorway, her teal eyes going from him to the sketch book that was now lying on the floor.

"Uhhh…"

"Seriously, have you ever heard of asking before you go tearing out pages?" Lovingly, she retrieved the book from the ground. "I mean, I guess I wouldn't have minded if you hadn't just left it on the dirty floor like that." After gently brushing off the book then putting it back on top of the boxes, Kitty walked over to see what the blond boy was drawing.

"I'm trying to copy the circle so I can show my brother; maybe we can figure out a way to get back." The girl nodded; Ed noticed how her teal eyes seemed to take everything in as if she understood the symbols. That was when he noticed her necklace.

"What's that?" he asked pointing to the necklace. The brunette blinked and grasped the charm in her hands.

"Oh this, it's a dream-catcher. My mom made it for me. She used to hang in over my crib, 'cause I always had bad dreams."

Ed looked at it more closely; in a way, it looked like Alchemy, the circle around a bunch of lines with different colored beads hanging off the odd string. It also kind of looked like the circle on the floor. He suddenly heard Kathrin cough and looked up, startled. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't even noticed how close he had gotten to her. Jumping back, he straightened up. "W…well, I'm not entirely sure about anything yet, but we'll see." That being said, he walked out of the shed, slightly flustered.

Kitty followed behind, laughing quietly to herself. She knew that Edward had only been looking at her necklace. Of course, she _had_ found it funny how he'd suddenly fallen so deep into his thoughts, as if his mind was suddenly in another world. It reminded her of when she got involved in a drawing: The whole world seems to fade away, and her reality suddenly became the picture—like she wasn't just drawing anymore, she _was_ the drawing. With that thought, she picked up her sketchbook and followed Edward toward the house.

------------------------------------

**If you're an artist like me you'll understand the sacrilege being done here when Ed ripped out a page of Kathrin's drawing book!!! HOW COULD HE!!! –la gasp-**

**I'm still debating if I should make this slightly romantic… oh well we'll see how events unfold. **


	4. Stalkerish tendencies

--

**Big thanks to: **

**Arden Anam**** (who is once again recognized for her amazingness) **

**Liz-Kaguya (glomps for being amazing) **

**Call-me-Lie-chan (who is just cool)**

**Ink.Incorporated**** (love the name) **

**Notes: **

**Sorry this is so late…I had a pretty crazy week also I won't be able to update until after April but I'm going to do the script frenzy, once I update my profile it'll be on there. **

**-- stalkerish tendencies --**

Laughter and music floated from the living room as both teens entered it. Edward looked confused, so Kathrin filled him in.

"I think they're playing DDR, it's a game that… oh, let me show you." Taking his arm, she led him into the living room. Isanne and Emma were standing in front of the TV, which showed a colorful screen with arrows running up it. Both girls seemed to be stepping in time with the music, giggling uncontrollably; Al was standing next to them, laughing at something funny that Isanne was saying.

"Oh, hi, brother, Kitty."

"Did Kitty-Kat just come in? Hey, Kitty-Kat, OMG, you will not believe how I am so going to, like, wipe the floor with this, darn it." Emma cackled wickedly as Snow missed a step.

Kathrin knew what had been making Al laugh. Isanne was doing her "Barbie" talk, which was pretty much her talking high-pitched and like some ditzy cheerleader. Emma giggled again as her feet moved with the arrows.

"So what are they doing?" Edward asked, his gold eyes looking skeptically at the screen.

"Ok, basically, see those mats? Well, you have to step on the same arrow as the one that the screen shows when it passes that thing there. It's supposed to be like a dance-off type thing." Ed nodded, trying to grasp the concept.

"Ok, kids, DDR time over, let's get dinner started," Alice ordered, coming into the room.

--

"So, Kitty, what did your brother say?" Alice asked as she passed the green beans to Emma, who made a slight face before taking some. Ed looked at the small brunette curiously as Kathrin spoke.

"Not much. He's doing well, and things are going pretty ok. He helped a family with some food. He also said he loves the birds a lot, and sent me a feather."

"Ohhh, can I see it after dinner?" Emma asked, her beans suspiciously gone. Kitty nodded, taking a bite of her ham.

"He said if everything goes well, he'll be home for a visit in a few weeks!" Kitty added, her teal eyes lighting up with excitement.

"You really love your brother, don't you," Alphonse commented, smiling along with the older girl, her happiness spreading. Kathrin nodded, a huge grin on her face.

"Yeah, even if he's three years older, we're very close; he's a wonderful older brother."

Snow nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Jonny's an AMAZING guy! He even beat up this guy who was bothering Kitty-Kat when she was 14! In fact, that was my first impression of him." The girls and Alice laughed at the memory.

"I remember that young boy's mother calling me and telling me I had to pay medical bills; I told her that she could shove those bills up her you-know-what. Her brat was asking for it."

"She means ass," Emma whispered to Alphonse as if the older boy didn't know. The blond boy almost choked but didn't say anything. Isanne, who had heard what Emma had said, stifled a giggle.

--

After dinner, everyone went into the den, which was like the living room but had shelves of books and a few desks. The girls started on homework while the boys read some books that Alice had given them. After a while, Snow, bored of school, picked up Kitty-kat's sketchbook, which was sitting on top of a pile of school books.

"Anything new?" Isanne asked, flipping through the pages as she went to sit on the couch next to Alphonse, who was reading some history book.

The brunette shook her head. "Nope… Oh, I did finish your picture." Isanne let out a squeal and flipped through the pages. Curious, Alphonse put down his book and looked over her shoulder.

The picture was obviously of Isanne; she had on a flowing sundress, and she was laughing as her hand reached out to the person looking at the picture. Her brilliant clear blue eyes where shining with joy and love to the same person she was extending her hand to.

"Wow," the blonde breathed, tracing her fingers over the picture. "I'm beautiful—I mean, it's beautiful, and the colors… it's not fair."

Kathrin laughed, brushing away a stray lock of brown hair as she kept her eyes on her math book. Al couldn't take his gaze off the picture; it was like she was calling to him, inviting him to come and play with her, take him on an adventure. But his thoughts were cut short by Isanne turning the page, obviously slightly self-conscious. Al had only known her for two days now, but could already tell that she HATED talking about anything that involved her in any way.

"You should see her other work. This one's of Emma as an angel."

The young, dark-skinned girl had her head thrown back and her arms out wide, obviously souring upward; her brilliant golden wings were flung outward. The look on her face was a peaceful one, as if she were breaking free.

"This one's a butterfly."

Its brilliant colors almost seemed ready to fly off the page. The light blue and greens that surrounded it radiated a sense of spring.

"And I love this one. Kitty-Kat had this dream and woke me up in the middle of the night because she had turned on the light so she could draw."

Alphonse almost choked when he saw it.

It was a picture of a boy, his hands clasped as if in prayer, eyes closed. His face had a look of determination, and he was dressed in a black robe with a large wooden cross hanging around his neck. Al could see a few strands of blond bangs peeping out of the black hood that rested loosely over his head. He was in a dark room, lit only by candles. Behind him was a dark gray stone wall that had rather odd looking symbols and words painted in red.

There were two things about the picture that startled the younger Elric boy. One was a helmet that sat on a shelf next to a candle that the monk was praying by; it had an eerie likeness to the helmet he had once used as his head. The other was….

"Hey, now that I look at this again, your little monk looks a lot like Edward," Snow remarked, squinting as she leaned closer to the picture. Both Kitty and Edward looked up from the books they were reading. Kathrin stood and walked over, Ed not far behind.

"Really? That's funny." Taking the book from Snow, Kitty examined it, then looked at Edward. "Wow, I guess he kind of does."

"Let me see," Ed demanded, snatching it from her.

"You didn't have to grab."

Ed's eyes widened slightly; Alphonse thought it was probably because of the helmet in the back. But in the blink of an eye, Ed's face became unreadable.

"Yeah, I guess it does a little bit," he muttered, giving Kitty's sketchbook back. The girl frowned at him, slightly insulted at his manner.

"Well, it's not like I drew this when we met or anything, I did it weeks ago."

Ed was about to respond when Alice walked in, holding a phone in her hand.

"Isanne, it's your mother."

The blonde girl frowned slightly. "What does she want?" she muttered, getting up and taking the phone.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Mom… yeah, I'm doing pretty well."

Kitty watched anxiously as her closest friend walked out of the room, Isanne's voice getting lower and lower.

"I thought you said Isanne didn't have parents anymore," Ed commented, glancing at Kitty's worried face. The brunette nodded.

"Well, technically, by the laws, she doesn't. But her birth mom likes to visit once in a while," Kitty informed him, returning to her homework.

"My mommy comes to visit me sometimes, too, only I can't call her mommy, I have to call her Rena," Emma reported, looking up from the book she was reading. "Last time we went out, she told me she's going to adopt me soon." Ed glanced at the girl, then back at Kitty, who make the loco sign. Ed frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.

Soon, Isanne came back. Her blue eyes looked deep in thought, but they brightened right up when Kathrin asked what her mother had said.

"Oh, she wants go to shopping, something about how she just got her first pay check as a full-time nurse and she wants to celebrate." Isanne shrugged. "It should be fun, I guess."

"I talked to Dianne, and it sounds like she'll pick Isanne up at the mall tomorrow and they'll go off while the rest of us do some shopping of our own. Then, before we all go home, we have to go pick up Rasui."

Kathrin frowned slightly. "Grams, I have work tomorrow."

"Oh, that's right, ok then, we'll drop you off before Isanne and then pick you up after your shift. I'm sure that, if it's Dianne shopping, they will take a while."

Kitty nodded, then went back to her work.

--

After homework was done, Isanne took out a camera. "Well, seeing as mom's going to want pictures…" She snapped one of Ed, who was looking at her as if she were crazy. Laughing, she started to take random photos.

"Let's play a game," Emma suggested, opening a cabinet. "What do you want to play?"

"Uno."

"Oh, Isanne, we just played that at school today."

The blonde smiled, snapping another picture of Kathrin talking to her. The brunette frowned, but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she fought back a smile.

"I want to play clue," Emma interrupted.

"Then why did you ask us what we wanted to play, if you already had a game picked out?" Kathrin asked as Isanne took a picture of Alphonse looking out the window at a gray cat.

"Whose cat is that?"

"Oh, that's Cloud," Kitty said without even looking. "We have hundreds of cats." Both boys looked surprised; Isanne took this opportunity to snap another picture. "The reason you haven't seen them is that it's been so warm out; they're all out hunting… Or they're in the basement, you haven't been down there yet…. Anyway, Grams was trying to get a project done and they kept getting into everything. So she '_cut all ties with them,'_ as she put it, and they have been banished to the great outdoors until they can behave themselves."

"And you may let them back in. All is forgiven and I finished my gift for Judy this afternoon," Alice's voice said from the other room. Cheering, Kitty opened the window, letting the gray cat inside. Giving a small purr of thanks, the cat slid in, looked around, then promptly stalked into the kitchen where he mewed to Alice to give him a treat for being locked outside for so long.

This caused a chain reaction. As the kids played Clue, which they had to teach to the Elric brothers, cats would randomly pop in and out of the window. A small, dark brown—almost black—kitten was now sitting on Alphonse, purring and giving him a hard time unless he gave her the attention she wanted. After taking some pictures, Isanne laughed.

"Takara likes you. Sheesh, you're popular with the little girls _and_ the kittens…"

Al just laughed as he stroked the very pleased little cat.

After the game, which Ed ended up winning (Isanne complained that he was too smart to play and it wasn't fair), the kids got ready to go to bed.

"Just make sure you close your door unless you want kitties in your room," Alice warned the boys "I have a feeling Takara might come back for more petting: she's taken a liking to you, Al and she can be quite the little stalker."

"Kitty says she has stalkerish tendencies," Emma informed Al as they all made their way upstairs.

--

**No one's going to get that Takara joke unless you read Desert.Moon's fic obsession… but I had to add her in, she's such an AMAZING character. **

**Anyway sorry about me not being around… I hope you guys will forgive me. **


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